New Hampshire Chooses New High School Equivalency Test

On Wednesday, March 20, 2013, the New Hampshire State Board of Education approved a new high school equivalency test that will be used throughout New Hampshire starting in January, 2014. The new test will be the basis for awarding a New Hampshire High School Equivalency Certificate by the NH Department of Education (NH DOE).

A new high school equivalency test was needed since the GED Testing Service, formerly owned by the American Council on Education and purchased by the Pearson Corporation, decided that a new test was needed. Since the current version of the GED test had not been updated since 2002 the Pearson Corporation decided to update the test and align it with the Common Core Educational Standards now being introduced in most states.

During the past year several other vendors including the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and McGraw Hill/CBT also developed high school equivalency tests tied to the Common Core State Standards. The NH DOE conducted a Request for Proposal Process (RFP) in which vendors submitted their tests for consideration by the State of New Hampshire. After a review process that included current New Hampshire GED local test administrators, the proposal from the Educational Testing Service was selected as best meeting the needs of New Hampshire citizens.

The new test will be available in both paper based and computer based formats for at least three years. While plans are not yet complete regarding the cost of the new test and availability of testing centers, the Bureau of Adult Education intends to continue the availability of high school equivalency testing throughout the state and at the lowest possible cost to the public.